The cinematic fixation with 
paranormal 
romance 
that 
blossomed uncontrollably in the 
late 2000s can be traced back to 
the iconic literary masterpiece 
that started it all: “Twilight.” 
When Stephanie Meyer’s best-
selling young adult novel was 
adapted into a film saga, teenage 
hearts 
across 
the 
country 
were revived through Robert 
Pattinson’s (“Remember Me”) 
portrayal of Edward Cullen — the 
flawless, brooding vampire and 
love interest of the protagonist, 
played by Kristen Stewart (“Snow 
White 
and 
the 
Huntsman”). 
“Twilight” 
and 
its 
sequels 
dominated teenage culture, but 
the film had the apparent side-
effect of trapping Stewart and 
Pattinson within their roles of 
Bella and Edward, a common 
repercussion for young actors who 
personify a teenage fandom. After 
“Twilight,” Pattinson struggled 
to be identified as a legitimate 
actor, not just ‘the hot vampire 
from “Twilight.”’ In Pattinson’s 
audition for the film “Good Time,” 
he altered his accent to match 
that of the character, attempting 
to further distance himself from 
his previous role and obtain the 
part on merit. Pattinson’s lead 
role in the film gifts him with 
a shot at validating his acting 
potential to audiences and the 
film community as a whole.
The best way to describe “Good 
Time” is perhaps as an urban 
version of “What’s Eating Gilbert 
Grape,” but darker. Much, much 
darker. Foreshadowing the jerky, 

spur-into-action style that persists 
throughout the remainder of the 
film, one of the first sequences 
involves a robbery committed 
by two brothers, Connie, the 
instigator of the crime, and Nick, 
who lies somewhere on the autism 
spectrum and is not fully aware 
of the dangerous situation he is 
involved in. Ultimately ending up 
in a high-speed chase with the 
police, Nick is caught and sent 
to prison. Connie manages to 
evade the cops, but motivated by 
his rightful guilt and love for his 
brother, he embarks on a mission 
through the maze that is the dark, 
neon-lit New York City streets 
to obtain bail money for Nick, 
spinning a web of messes and 
destruction behind him.
“Good Time” is Pattinson’s 
opportunity to break the mold 
that he has been cast within 
— and break the mold he does. 
In fact, he shatters it. After 
watching this film, it is impossible 
for audiences to merely pass 
Pattinson off as ‘that vampire 
guy’ 
any 
longer. 
Practically 
the anti-“Twilight” in terms of 
acting, 
Pattinson’s 
expression 
of 
Connie 
as 
a 
desperate, 
manipulative 
and 
exploitative 
young man gives viewers a 
character they can chew on. 
Connie is someone that audiences 
are unclear whether or not to 
root for. Unsettled by Connie’s 
slimy and sketchy actions and 
unsavory usage of the individuals 
he 
encounters, 
viewers 
may 
admire the lengths he is willing 
to go to free his brother, that is, 
until they remember that his 
brother’s misfortune is entirely 
Connie’s fault. Pattinson provides 
movie-goers a character that 

gives us whiplash. We scorn at his 
impulsivity and shoddy attempts 
to repair the damage he causes 
over the course of his travels, yet 
we also cross our fingers, hoping 
that he makes it out unscathed in 
the end. 
It is somewhat understandable 
why this film did not receive 
an Oscar or Golden Globe best 
picture 
nomination. 
Viewers 
tend to gravitate toward films 
with 
characters 
who 
grow 
on screen, especially evident 
through this year’s batch of 
nominations, including coming-
of-age films “Lady Bird” and “Call 
Me by Your Name.” However, 
the 
failure 
to 
acknowledge 
Pattinson for his performance 
here is without a doubt an 
oversight. The dimension that 
Pattinson 
generates 
through 
his embodiment of Connie is 
fantastic. The idea of a ‘repulsive 
hero’ sounds paradoxical, but that 
is exactly what Pattinson offers 
the audience in “Good Time” — 
a moral-free, low-life swindler 
that, despite his personality flaws, 
is still capable of feeling a pure, 
untainted love for another human 
being.
There is absolutely nothing 
feel-good about this film, and it is 
in no way redemptive. However, 
though it leaves viewers with knots 
in their stomachs, it convinces 
them that Robert Pattinson can 
no longer be identified solely as 
another insignificant actor within 
the paranormal genre. Pattinson 
proves his acting prowess by 
shedding his longtime branding 
as “Edward” and coming into 
his own, and it is a true pity that 
he did not receive the credit he 
deserved. 

Oscar snubs: ‘Good Time’

SAMANTHA NELSON
For the Daily

FILM

FUELED BY RAMEN

A24

ALBUM REVIEW

Modern music seems to 
be 
more 
and 
more 
about 
crossovers — how do artists 
combine 
genres, 
and 
how 
do those new and unique 
combinations 
serve 
to 
revitalize seemingly defunct 
subsets of the musical sphere? 
It’s been a tough century 
for emos so far — a soaring, 

climactic decade at the turn 
of 
the 
2000s 
filled 
with 
flourishing, 
aggressively 
heartfelt 
releases 
abruptly 

followed 
by 
a 
plague 
of 
disbanding artists fading into 

history. Since then, the genre 
has grown several different 
limbs, 
including, 
but 
not 
limited to, alternative pop, 
emo 
self-made 
Soundcloud 
artists and softened emo rock.
Now, I’m all for music 
changing with the times, but 
even when an artist hasn’t been 
off the map for eight years, 
there’s inevitably going to be 
some 
comparison 
between 
the old and the new. The old 
Dashboard Confessional built 

Dashboard Confessional’s 
‘Crooked Shadows’ is flat

SAM LU
Daily Arts Writer

COMMUNITY CULTURE

Courtesy of Yaa Gyasi

Crooked Shadows

Dashboard 
Confessional 

Fueled by Ramen

its empire on early 2000s “emo 
acoustic punk,” embracing the 
slowed down guitar chords 
that characterized the era. 
Their latest release Crooked 
Shadows is an effort to show 
off a more grown-up version of 
that raw emotion to the world; 
however, because of the huge 
gap that exists between the 
last release and this one, the 
contrast is more of a gulf than 
a seamless transition between 
styles. If you were to listen 
to Dashboard Confessional’s 
discography in order of release, 
you’d definitely be able to tell 
when the hiatus happened.
Crooked 
Shadows 
starts 
plainly 
enough 
with 
“We 
Fight,” a track that gradually 
moves from a somewhat bland 
ticking beat to a rousing chorus. 
First and foremost, lead singer 
Chris Carrabba’s voice has lost 
the gentle, tender vulnerability 
embodied 
by 
old 
tracks 
such as Dusk and Summer’s 
“Stolen,” instead adopting a 
gritty aggressiveness that is 
reminiscent of a crunchier, 
more roughed up OneRepublic.
Sadly, 
Crooked 
Shadows’s 
biggest disappointment was 

also what I’d been most excited 
for — the collaboration with 
Lindsey 
Stirling. 
Stirling’s 

unique calling card is how 
she manages to twist classical 
violin 
into 
producing 
all 
kinds of new, fiercely badass 

sounds. However, “Open My 
Eyes” is sorely lacking in the 
balanced intensity and energy 
that I’ve come to expect from 
music associated with Stirling. 
The result is an appallingly 
lukewarm track that sounds 
like 
a 
pop 
song 
with 
a 
violin added in — perhaps 
a sad attempt at imitating 
Yellowcard’s 
violin 
infused 
style — rather than an effort to 
create something that would 
truly stand the test of time.
Albums 
are 
statements. 
They’re even more significant 
when they bookend hiatuses. 
Even when artists completely 
change their styles, at their 
core, musical releases are still 
an extension of the creator’s 
character. The problem with 
Crooked 
Shadows 
is 
that 
Dashboard 
Confessional’s 
character doesn’t seem to be 
coming through. Moreover, it 
seems to be trying to fit into a 
niche that’s already dominated 
by groups such as Paramore, 
Fall Out Boy and Twenty One 
Pilots.
What’s the verdict? Stop 
trying to make emo happen — 
it’s not going to happen! 

The problem 

with Crooked 

Shadows is that 

Dashboard 

Confessional’s 

character doesn’t 

seem to be coming 

through

Yaa Gyasi explores home 
and history in ‘Homegoing’

A pristine white castle, in 
all its majesty, claims its place 
on the Gold Coast in Ghana. 
Magnificent on the outside, 
inspiration struck from the 
cold 
underbelly. 
While 
the 
perfection on the outside was 
unchanging, Yaa Gyasi spoke of 
the smell that still today plagues 
the dungeons of the castle. The 
lingering smell of wrongdoings, 
of evil that endured while above 
colonial wealth thrived. It was 
during these 20 minutes that 
Yaa Gyasi spent in the castle 
where the story of “Homegoing” 
began. A haunted castle that 
reveals the curse of slavery; a 
beginning that we wish to be 
just a fable.
Yaa Gyasi’s unfaltering voice 
filled the Rackham auditorium 

accompanied 
by 
the 
silent 
attention of many Ann Arbor 
fans this past Tuesday. Opening 
the night with a reading, Gyasi’s 
voice emphasized the strong 
presence of time in her novel. As 
she read aloud, her voice had a 
fluidity and tranquility — beauty 
stemmed from a borderline 
monotony. Her voice always 
marching 
forward, 
without 
lingering or rushing, mimicking 
time. Just as the structure of the 
book spends an equal amount 
of pages on each character, 
Gyasi spoke with an entrancing 

consistency. 
Structural 
predictability mimic the ticking 
of a clock — the passing of days, 
to years, to seven generations, 
to tie together the lives of 14 
individuals.
The night was intended to be 
a conversation with Yaa Gyasi 
and two University professors. 
While at times the questions 
were thought provoking, some 
felt as though the professors 
were trying to get a specific 
response from Gyasi regarding 
her own work. Gyasi, however, 
remained authentic and relaxed 
in her responses regardless of 
the moments when the structure 
of the lecture was pushing on.
Yaa 
Gyasi 
spoke 
of 
her 
research, inspiration and ideas 
with an unrehearsed elegance. 
She was humorous in her self 
reflection, 
joking 
with 
the 
audience while allowing them to 
relate on a personal level. Gyasi 
recalled the day she walked 
into the castle in Ghana. She 
described the castle’s beautiful 
outside, only to then be shown 
the dungeon, which still reeked 
of history’s wrongdoings.
Many 
themes 
surfaced 
throughout 
the 
night. 
The 
meaning 
of 
freedom, 
inheritance and home all came 
into question. Gyasi focuses on 
more than just legal bondages, 
the inheritance of trauma and 
the true expanse of home, 
constantly going beyond the 
physical. It is in the emotional 
and the spiritual that her 
novel has captivated so many. 
Through these aspects, people 
of all backgrounds can relate 
to and understand the story 
beyond historical facts.
Every individual has their 
own unique history that goes 
beyond 
their 
own 
lifespan. 
The connection we feel to our 
ancestors drives the feeling that 
life is more than just biology — 
an unexplainable inheritance 
that we feel, that we do not have 
to know. While an unintended 
consequence, Gyasi spoke of 
how many people have talked 

to her about their decision 
to purchase a 23andMe DNA 
testing kit. The reaction of 
Gyasi’s readers to go in search 

of their own heritage speaks to 
the profound power of ancestry 
portrayed in the novel.
Gyasi spoke of how she grew 
up with “Homegoing.” While 
she never felt she could claim 
Ghana as a home, having moved 
away at two years old, she did not 
feel like the United States was 
home either. But what if home 
can be more than somewhere 
you point to on a map, more 
than the place you think owns 
you? The term “homegoing” 
refers to the African American 
funeral tradition which revolves 
around the idea that once you 
die, your soul returns home. The 
funeral ritual is a celebration 
of 
the 
deceased 
returning 
home. Among the many themes 
“Homegoing” reflects on, this 
one lingers: Home can be people, 
a collection of places, a feeling, a 
security or even yourself. Home 
does not need to be a physical 
place; home can be inside of you.

ISABEL FRYE
Daily Arts Writer

While the 

perfection on 

the outside was 

unchanging, Yaa 

Gyasi spoke of 

the smell that still 

today plagues the 

dungeons of the 

castle

The meaning 

of freedom, 

inheritance and 

home all came 

into question

6A — Monday, February 12, 2018
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com